Clinical Neuropsychology Final
INTRODUCTION
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Purposes of neuropsychology
Terminology
What Can be Affected and How
Purpose: To determine effects of damage. That is, the deficits, practical consequences, prognosis
-‐ Client care and treatment planning: o Descriptive evaluation of: client’s capabilities and limitations (take care of self? finances? Driving? Job change needed?), psychological change, impact on self and others o Can retraining be useful? o Explaining to client diagnosis, alterations in behavior and abilities, and treatment plan o Help set realistic goals
-‐ Provision of rehabilitation: assess and provide! o Individualized! o Retraining? Medications, inc side effects? Surgery? o Repeat testing to examine improvements … o Evaluate effectiveness of treatment? Cost worth it?
-‐ Research o Typical manifestations and symptoms of neurological conditions, disorders, diseases o Efficacy of treatment protocols o Normal brain functioning o Validity of neuropsych assessments: psychometric and ecological (how well they accurately diagnose and predict outcomes)
-‐ Forensics o Personal injury claims (evidence of sustained brain injury), mental competency to stand trial, contribution of brain dysfunction to committed crimes, tests of malingering
Neuroimaging
-‐ Serves as primary diagnostic tool (w exception of mild TBI)
-‐ Techniques:
• EEG- records electrical activity of brain; image is of brain waves
• CT- picture of brain, taken with multiple x-ray images; reveals soft tissue often not seen in xrays; image looks like X-ray with white outline
• MRI- noninvasive nuclear procedure, image shows chemical makeup of tissues (inc. high fat and water content); image looks like CT but no white outlineà normal, cancer, traumatized tissue • PET- nuclear imaging, produces 3D image of functional processes in the body; detects gamma rays emitted by tracer and introduced into body by biologically active molecule; image is a colorful x-ray slice
• fMRI-
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•
•
Purposes of neuropsychology
Terminology
What Can be Affected and How
Purpose: To determine effects of damage. That is, the deficits, practical consequences, prognosis
-‐ Client care and treatment planning: o Descriptive evaluation of: client’s capabilities and limitations (take care of self? finances? Driving? Job change needed?), psychological change, impact on self and others o Can retraining be useful? o Explaining to client diagnosis, alterations in behavior and abilities, and treatment plan o Help set realistic goals
-‐ Provision of rehabilitation: assess and provide! o Individualized! o Retraining? Medications, inc side effects? Surgery? o Repeat testing to examine improvements … o Evaluate effectiveness of treatment? Cost worth it?
-‐ Research o Typical manifestations and symptoms of neurological conditions, disorders, diseases o Efficacy of treatment protocols o Normal brain functioning o Validity of neuropsych assessments: psychometric and ecological (how well they accurately diagnose and predict outcomes)
-‐ Forensics o Personal injury claims (evidence of sustained brain injury), mental competency to stand trial, contribution of brain dysfunction to committed crimes, tests of malingering
Neuroimaging
-‐ Serves as primary diagnostic tool (w exception of mild TBI)
-‐ Techniques:
• EEG- records electrical activity of brain; image is of brain waves
• CT- picture of brain, taken with multiple x-ray images; reveals soft tissue often not seen in xrays; image looks like X-ray with white outline
• MRI- noninvasive nuclear procedure, image shows chemical makeup of tissues (inc. high fat and water content); image looks like CT but no white outlineà normal, cancer, traumatized tissue • PET- nuclear imaging, produces 3D image of functional processes in the body; detects gamma rays emitted by tracer and introduced into body by biologically active molecule; image is a colorful x-ray slice
• fMRI-